Neighbourhoods

Bloor West Village

A thriving real-estate market and an especially strong business-improvement association (the world’s first, created in 1970) have this idyllic community going stronger than ever. At the centre, a popular shopping stretch along Bloor Street—more than 400 world-class restaurants, specialty stores, coffee shops and more coffee shops—feeds two residential areas: Runnymede to the north, with its two-story brick houses, and Swansea to the south, offering high-end and semi-detached homes, and bungalows. The onslaught of young, affluent families has made larger, more modern renovations a common sight; but, breathing the same fresh air as nearby High Park, the tree-lined streets maintain their rich, natural character. You might say it’s a neighbourhood that’s right fit for a children’s book. True! Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables, lived at 210 Riverside Drive, from 1935 to 1942.